Pennsylvania allowing transfer of old GED scores

Adam Clark, Of The Morning Call

Pennsylvanians who didn't pass the entire GED test before a new version was introduced this year won't have to start over after all.

The state has developed a process for transferring passing scores earned on sections of the old General Educational Development test instead of forcing those who hadn't passed the entire test to start from the beginning.

Scores that need to be transferred can be submitted to the state when test takers register online for the GED, said Mary Kovalchik, director of literacy and job training at the Lehigh Carbon Community College campus in Allentown.

"I'm really happy that they gave people that opportunity to have a second chance," Kovalchik said. "There were a lot of people who had spent so much time working toward it and would have had to have started all over on what's really turning out to be quite a difficult test."

The new, more rigorous test is administered on a computer instead of on paper and combines writing and reading comprehension into one section, reducing the number of sections from five to four.

Both LCCC and Northampton Community College saw an influx of test takers trying to pass the entire GED last year before the new test was introduced on Jan. 2 by the national GED Testing Service. The 2014 version is the first remake of the test since 2002.

Not everyone was able to successfully complete the test in time, Kovalchik said.

Since January, the state Department of Education received 1,194 requests to transfer scores, according to the state.

State Reps. Joe Hackett (R-Delaware) and Hal English (R-Allegheny) worked with the state to develop a process for transferring those scores.

"This was about fairness," Hackett said in a news release. "Adult education must be a priority to help our residents complete their education and improve their quality of life."

The state has since processed 1,887 of those requests and determined that 1,100 had qualifying scores eligible for transfer to the new GED exam.

"I am pleased that we will be able to eliminate an unnecessary obstacles for an adult population that is already facing many challenges," English said.